The children of slain Irishman Jason Corbett told social workers he punched his wife in the face and rolled his car over her foot, according to court documents filed in the US.

The 39-year-old was found dead at his home in North Carolina on August 2 last year after sustaining fatal head injuries.

He died of blunt-force trauma to the head after allegedly being struck with a baseball bat and a paving stone by his second wife Molly Martens Corbett (32) and her father Tom (66), a retired FBI agent.

They have both pleaded not guilty to second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.

Mr Corbett’s children from his first marriage are living in Limerick with their legal guardians, Mr Corbett’s sister Tracey Lynch and her husband David.

In documents seen by Independent.ie, a defence motion filed with Davidson Superior Court gives details from three separate interviews between each of the children and social workers last year.

“Each child reported similar incidents of verbal and physical abuse by Jason Corbett upon Molly Corbett,” the motion claims.

The filing refers to another meeting with a trained therapist three days later, which was observed by detective via a two-way mirror.

Thomas Martens at court. Photo: Winston-Salem Journal

During the interview, Sarah reportedly described how her father would start fights for “ridiculous reasons” and said he would “hurt her mom”.

The documents include further allegations made by the child that Jason pulled Molly’s hair, rolled over her foot with a car, called her “worthless” and hit her in the face.

Jason Corbett

The filing states that Jack claimed to have seen his father “punch, hit and push” his stepmother and pushed her down on one occasion because “he wanted to look through her phone”.

He said Jason “would cuss and scream at her” and she “would cry and try to block her ears”.

Jason Corbett and his wife Molly Martens Corbett

Jack claimed his father’s behaviour worsened and that Molly “would scream for him to stop but she would just ball up under the covers and block her ears”, according to the paperwork.

The motion was filed in an attempt to exclude from evidence a fourth interview with Jack conducted on May 27, after he and his sister had moved to live with their aunt in Limerick.

The interview was reportedly arranged at the request of the District Attorney’s office in North Carolina. Neither Tracey Lynch not her husband was present, and a child psychologist attended the interview with Jack.

The defendant lawyers allege in their motion that the interview is “hearsay and unreliable”.

They also included details of notes allegedly written by Jack to his stepmother after he was placed under the guardianship of his aunt.

The motion said he wrote: “You are the greatest mom anyone can have. Thank you for being a super mom. I love you past the universe and back.”

Molly Martens Corbett and her father Tom were each released on a €190,000 bond.

They are scheduled to appear in court on August 8. No trial date has been set.